The Italian city hardest hit by an earthquake in August that killed 295 people has filed a criminal defamation complaint against French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo for a cartoon depicting victims between layers of lasagna.

Charlie Hebdo experienced its own tragedy last year in January, when Islamist gunmen stormed its offices in Paris and killed 12 people in retaliation for the magazine’s depictions of the Prophet Muhammad.

It remained defiant immediately afterward, with its first cover after the attack featuring an image of the Muslim prophet in tears while holding a sign that stated "Je suis Charlie."

And its first cover after the November Paris attacks that killed 129 people featured the image of a man drinking as champagne flowed from his bullet-ridden body, accompanied by the phrase: "They have weapons… Fuck them, we have champagne!"

Later on Friday, in response to the reaction of its earthquake cover, Charlie Hebdo again doubled down, publishing a second cartoon on its Facebook page that states: "Italians, it is not Charlie Hebdo that built your homes, it's the mafia!"

It was quickly shared and commented on thousands of times.

An attorney for Charlie Hebdo told the AP he would not comment until he has been formally notified about the defamation complaint.